Hatfield wins walleye derby

[Spiel]

Hatfield wins walleye derby

Winner donates $600 prize to Pangburn and Perrers families

 

By SCOTT BRAND / Jan 28, 2008

sooeveningnews.com

 

 

PICKFORD - “It was our best year ever for weighing fish,” said Tom Ball of the Soo Area Sportsmen's Club crunching the numbers on the 2008 Walleye Jamboree. Fishermen brought 210 walleyes to the scales during the four-day event with most of them weighing somewhere between 1 and 2 pounds.

 

“That's good news,” said Ball indicating the abundance of smaller fish points to a strong class which should provide good angling in the future.

 

The big fish turned out to be a 6-pounder caught by Jim Hatfield of Pickford using a Do-Jigger tipped with a full minnow in 5 feet of water opening morning. As a long time participant in the annual derby - “I haven't missed one,” said Hatfield - he believed there was no chance that his Thursday-morning walleye would be the eventual winner so he took it home and filleted it.

 

 

But when the final fish was weighed on Sunday, Hatfield still stood atop the leaderboard.

 

Event-organizers were going to award the $600 top prize at the conclusion of the derby, but Hatfield declined to accept the money requesting the Soo Area Sportsmen's Club evenly divide his winnings to the families of Nick Pangburn and Kristina Peffers who had perished on Munuscong Bay while returning from an ice fishing expedition.

 

“It's one of the most unselfish things I have came across in all the years I have done the derby,” said Ball early this morning vowing to carry out Hatfield's wishes. The sportsman's club will present Hatfield with a plaque commemorating his 2008 victory.

 

Dennis Besteman of Rudyard finished in second place with a 5.95 pounder earning an 8' x 8' storage shed to be delivered by Tri-County Builders, while Greg Ehle of Rudyard finished in third place pocketing $300 for a 5.85 pound walleye.

 

Bill Skinner of Pickford finished in fourth with a 5.50 pound fish good for $200 while Kasey Sajdak of Barbeau came in fifth at 4.70 pounds winning the $100 prize.

 

In the Youth Division, Tyler Snyder took the largest walleye weighing in at 3 pounds. Cody Reinfelder took the derby's largest perch tipping the scales at 1.50 pounds, while Nolan Benson caught the biggest northern pike with an 8.80 pounder.

 

There were 323 anglers registered in the 2008 Walleye Jamboree.

 

2008 Walleye Jamboree results

 

1. Jim Hatfield 6 lbs. Pickford $600

 

2. Dennis Besteman 5.95 Rudyard shed

 

3. Greg Ehle 5.85 Rudyard $300

 

4. Bill Skinner 5.50 Pickford $200

 

5. Kasey Sajdak 4.70 Barbeau $100

 

6. Chuck Norton 4.25 Sault $50

 

7. Kristie Socia 4.10 Pickford $50

 

8. Nathan Paquet 4.05 Bliss $50

 

9. Bill Palmer 3.80 Kinross $50

 

10. Brent Snyder 3.45 Moran $50

 

Youth Division

 

Walleye

 

1. Tyler Snyder 3.00

 

2. Brady Van Sloten 2.95

 

3. Mitchell Michalski 2.95

 

4. Zach Sebastian 2.90

 

5(tie) Rod Hesselink 2.50

 

Dustin Rye 2.50

 

Jacob Hatfield 2.50

 

 

Perch

 

1. Cody Reinfelder 1.50

 

2. Tim Horn 1.30

 

3. Derrick Edington 1.00

 

4. Mitchell Snyder .95

 

5. Lance Nettleton .90

 

 

Northern Pike

 

1. Nolan Benson 8.80

 

2. Brady Van Sloten 7.60

 

3. Eric Huyck 5.20

 

4. A.J. Brooks 1.90